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997 Supercharger Part VI:

Was able to pick up the much needed radiator plugs from the dealer today so I could get that project taken care of. Then I came home and did a bunch of paperwork…..and anything else I could do to avoid taking a coolant bath. Finally I got motivated to drag myself to the garage and get this project knocked out.

These are the two plugs you need which come with o-rings. No other parts needed as you can reuse the spring clips.

There are 3 lines coming/going to each radiator that should be clamped if you want to minimize coolant exiting at a high velocity. My craftsman hose clamp pliers worked just fine for clamping off two of the lines. Then I was too impatient to come up with a solution for the third line, because after all, how much coolant can come out really….. LOL

After lining up how the plug needed to be inserted (the grooves need to match up with the grooves in the radiator for the retaining clip), I yanked the hose and quickly shoved the plug into place. First side….not bad, maybe lost a cup of fluid….I am that good ;). The second side is a bit tighter getting the line out because it is shorter. Um….the plug is also rotated 90 degrees. I wasn’t as fast with this side…more of a bumbling idiot actually, but still only lost maybe a quart of fluid total between the two sides, so it really wasn’t that bad. A simple top off of the reservoir when we start the car and all will be good. Life is good.

Then you can remove the old hoses and install the new fittings from the kit (they come pre-installed in the radiator if you don’t already have the 3rd radiator).

Then start hooking up lines. It takes a bit of playing with to figure out the correct routing, and I shortened the 90 degree line to the bottom of the reservoir tank by about 2 inches so it would come up under the frame better and away from the radiator ducting.

And the ducting in place. You will have to manipulate the lines a little on the driver’s side to get the duct back on. Just think it out and you will get it.

The passenger side is much easier when putting the ducting on as there are no lines in the way, so then I headed to the rear of the car to get the lines routed up to the engine bay. I found a nice path for the first line. Hint: Put a flash light in the engine bay so you can see the light from the bottom….it will help you feed the line in the right spot.

Then I dropped the line going to the pump in from the top down and found a path over the transaxle and to the pump.

And the lines coming out in the engine bay. I will need to extend the one line which isn’t a big deal. Next up I need to wait for the air filter heat shield to come in, which will likely be after the holiday weekend. Then I can start buttoning up the piping and the rest of the cooling components. Tomorrow I will put the front bumper back on and put the under body panels back on, along with a few small misc items. Then it will be a waiting game.

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3 Comments

Hey Doc- I am a little frustrated as I cannot find an email address for you- hence my comment….;-) I am the very happy owner of a super pristine ’97 C2 Coupe w/ orig halogen lights that really need A) the newest, brightest available bulbs, or B) an HID upgrade kit. There is so much info out there, much of it somewhat contradictory, that leaves me confused (i.e. more than my normal state of that being)……may I speak w/ you today if you have a chance? I am in Alexandria, VA……703-994-8514. Many Thanks Doc- Tom

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